Beardy going black?

[Sethre]

Hey there guys, thanks for all the help you've supplied me with. I've learned a lot. I have a concern though, my beardy has seem to have gone several shades darker in color than he usually is. When I get him he was a brigheter tan/orange color but now he seems have to gone to a dark grey/dark orange coloring. I know he was getting ready to shed, his legs and tail are very white (hopefully thats normal and he's not having issues). I'm wondering if he maybe shed his body skin which is why the skin looks so dark or not sure if somethings wrong with him. His underbelly usually has little dark short lines running down his belly but those seem to have gotten a bit more prominent too. I'll include pictures to show what Im talking about. Please let me know if anythings wrong!

Normal Mozzie:

Darker Mozzie:

Mozzie's Underbelly:

EDIT: Also does this look like tailrot? The tip of his tail underneath the shedding skin is very black.

Tail:

 

[Sylvia]

I do not understand what you're referring to and in the first picture it's really ... bad but in the others it seems ok, just little thin.
When they change suite they change color, and when the when the dead skin remains attached at the sight it seems whitish, opaque. Will that be?

 

[Sylvia]

The tail is dry, do you ever leave it to soak in the water?
From the cloaca they absorb water, it can helps.

 

[Sethre]

Sorry I was trying to say that it seems my beardy has gotten a lot blacker, is that normal or could it be from a shed? I just got him and am not familiar with Beardies, only Leopard Geckos. Also does it look like the attached dead skin should be shed off by now? Seems he's not trying to get it off.

Also in the last photo I attached you cant see it because I cant get a good picture of it but the end of his tail is very dark. Very dark. Could it be tailrot?

 

[Sethre]

The tail is dry, do you ever leave it to soak in the water?
From the cloaca they absorb water, it can helps.

I just gave him a bath the other day and let him soak for awhile, and I've put some water on his nose and watched him lick it off so I know he was drinking.

 

[Sylvia]

If he drinks, he is dehydrated, generally they drink with vegetables.
The tip of the tail dark dark is not a good sign, if black walks it is gangrenous. You should check with a ruler and go to the vet

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

He seems fairly skinny definietly, however nothing seems wrong at all. Just natural coloring, if he's darker than normal it may be because of incorrect temperatures? Or lower temps than he should have. Generally beardies darken themselves up to absorb more heat in a way.

"Stress marks" are nothing but misinformation, a myth basically as it has nothing to do with stress.

They do get most of their hydration from their food, HOWEVER if he drinks thats fine, it does not mean he's dehydrated just because he drinks. My beardies get regular drinks from eyedroppers, usually every other day to every two days. However they are older beardies who don't get dehydrated as much as babies do.

So he'd need water every day by a eyedropper or a light misting most likely.


Question, hows the setup currently? Temps, tank size, UVB bulb, how much he eats, etc?

 

[EllenD]

Dragons often change their colors daily, many times a day, from dark to light. They do this in order to absorb heat/light. So the markings on his belly, as already mentioned, are not related to stress at all, they are simply markings on his belly, just like the markings on the rest of his body. When he darkens the rest of his body to absorb more light, the markings on his belly will also become darker. Usually when they are inside their tanks, under the lights they are darker because they are trying to absorb the lights above them. When you take them out they usually lighten up. They lighten up a lot when in a warm bath, as they don't need to absorb any heat. And they do change their color over time from when they are babies to when they become adults, after each shed their colors generally change a bit. So his coloring is fine, not a problem at all...

What is a problem is that he's extremely thin and doesn't look well to me at all. How old is he now? Or how long have you had him?

What kind of UVB light do you have exactly? And what is his usual daily diet? Are you giving him a Calcium and a multivitamin supplement, and if so, how many days a week for each?

 

[Sethre]

Hi, thanks for the replies. He is very skinny, I just got him a couple days ago and he's not eating much. He hasnt eaten anything in the last day or so, I have been feeding him crickets and Ive tried dusting the recent feedings with calcium but he wont eat it like I said before. Getting worried about him, Im hoping its just due to the shed and relocation stress.

His tank set up is standard, heating mat on one side of the tank with a basking bulb, t5 5.0 HO UVB tube light. I dont have any digital temps, only a sticky air temp thats on the side of the tank, later today Im running to the store to get some of those calcium worms, I forget what theyre called. Also be picking up 2 digital thermometers.

 

[EllenD]

Good that you're getting at least 1 Digital Thermometer with a Probe, because his Basking Spot Surface Temperature needs to be between 105-110 degrees F in order for him to properly digest his food, and this will also effect his appetite and energy levels if it's too low, and you cannot measure the Basking Spot Surface Temperature with any type of stick-on thermometer, it must be a Probe or a Gun.

I don't know what a "Standard" tank set-up means, as it seems no one has the same idea when they first come to this forum, lol. What I can tell you is that your 5% UVB tube, even though it's a T5 strength tube, must be strapped to the underside of any mesh lid to the tank, and it must be within at least 6-7" of his basking spot/platform, and it also must be replaced once every 6 months...This is because it's only a 5% UVB output tube, thus it cannot be blocked by a mesh lid (you lose 40% of the UVB light to the mesh), and it cannot be any further away than 6-7" from your Dragon, and it will stop emitting any UVB light at about 6 months old. So if it's a tube/fixture that you got from the previous owner, I highly suggest getting him a new one...Actually, I highly suggest you get him a new one immediately anyway, and it needs to be at least a 10% tube.

I don't know what length your T5 tube fixture is, but you can cheaply order the Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVB tubes on Amazon.com and they will be fine in the T5 fixture you already have the 5.0 in. If your fixture is a 24" fixture, then you can order a 22" Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVB tube on Amazon.com for about $25 or less shipped...if it's a 36" fixture then you would need the 34" 10.0 T5HO, if it's an 18" fixture then you'd need the 16" 10.0 T5HO...

The difference between the 5.0 and the 10.0 is that the 10.0 is a 10% UVB output tube, which is what is needed by all desert reptiles anyway...The 10% or 10.0 tube puts out TWICE the UVB light that the 5.0 tube does. So basically you have to treat a 5.0 or 5% T5 strength tube just like you would treat a 10.0 T8 strength tube, the strength of the tube has nothing to due with the UVB output. So if you upgrade to a 10.0 T5HO tube #1) It can sit on top of the mesh lid, #2) It only needs to be within at least 10-11" of his basking spot, and #3) It only needs to be replace ONCE EVERY 12 MONTHS, so you save a lot of money over time , in addition to it being much better for your Dragon.

*****For the time being, be sure to use zip ties, wire, twine, etc., weave them through the mesh lid, and then strap the entire tube fixture to the underside of the mesh lid. Be sure that you strap it so that it's over the Hot Side of the tank, leaving rood for the bright-white colored Basking Bulb to sit on top of the mesh and RIGHT ALONGSIDE the UVB tube, so that BOTH LIGHTS ARE SHARING THE TOP OF THE HOT SIDE OF THE TANK...Then position his basking spot/platform directly underneath both lights so that he gets both lights while basking.

****BE SURE TO SET BOTH THE LIGHTS UP OVER THE HOT SIDE OF THE TANK AND PUT THE BASKING PLATFORM/SPOT UNDERNEATH BOTH LIGHTS, THEN LEAVE THEM BOTH ON FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES BEFORE PUTTING THE PROBE OF THE DIGITAL THERMOMETER RIGHT ON THE BASKING SPOT/PLATFORM TO MEASURE THE BASKING SPOT SURFACE TEMPERATURE!!! Be sure to also allow the Probe to sit on each spot you measure for at least 20 minutes or until the numbers stop rising before you read the temperature...

Calciworms are also called Black Soldier Fly Larva (BSFL)/Phoenix Worms/ReptiWorms/NutriGrubs...they are all the same thing, just different brand names. They are an excellent live feeder insect for Dragons, high in healthy protein, very high in Calcium (YOU STILL HAVE TO DUST THEM IN CALCIUM POWDER 5 DAYS A WEEK, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE VENDOR SAYS), very low in fat, and very high in water...

***If you have a local pet shop that sells large BSFL in bulk or cheaply that's great, I wish I did. However, usually people only have places like Petco and Petsmart, and Petsmart doesn't sell them at all, and Petco sells a container of 25 Calciworms for a ridiculous $4.25, they are all different sizes, most of them are tiny, and most are usually dead. It's a total rip-off. So if you're going to make BSFL your daily live insect, which is a very good choice (I've been using them as my main live feeder for about 10 years now with nothing but great results), then I highly suggest that you order them in bulk online. I buy from 2 different places, the cheapest one that I mainly use is www.dubiaroaches.com and I buy 1,000 size large per month for about $25 shipped...you can see the rip-off at Petco, lol. You can actually feed your young baby size larges because they are soft-bodied worms, that's another advantage to them, you don't need to feed smalls or mediums, just order the larges. The other place is www.symtonbsf.com which has similar prices, just a little higher shipping.

DO NOT PUT THE CALCIWORMS/BSFL IN THE FRIDGE, THEY'LL DIE!!!!! You can keep them in temps down to about 45-50 degrees F and they'll go dormant, but no colder than that. They are not like wax worms, mealworms, etc. that you can just keep in the fridge, pull them out and they'll wake up (which is exactly why most are dead when you buy them at Petco). If you have a basement, a garage, even a covered balcony/deck/patio that you can keep them on that's the best way to do it. I keep my bulk BSFL worms in a medium size plastic tub with a lid that I bought at Walmart for like $7. You can use either Oat Bran or just regular old plain Oat Meal to keep them in. So I just buy 2 canisters of Quaker Oats and dump them in the plastic tub as their bedding, then I just dump the bulk BSFL in (I actually use 2 containers because I'm buying 1,000 at a time, if you only have one Dragon and only order 500 or less a month then you can use one container). Then each morning you can Gut-Load them with the same fresh greens and veggies that you give to your Dragon. Just throw a good size handful of the fresh greens/veggies into the container and that will keep them fed and hydrated. i keep mine in my basement where it's around 50-55 degrees, so they go pretty dormant. Then I just go down there with a smaller container, get the number of worms that I need, bring them upstairs and run them under luke-warm water to totally wake them up and get them moving. Then I dust them and feed them..

****Be sure that your Dragon gets a Calcium powder 5 times a week and a Reptile Multivitamin powder 2-3 times a week.

He's most likely going through Relocation Stress right now, it can last up to a week or so, but if you don't have that 5.0 UVB tube strapped to the underside of the mesh lid and within about 6-7" of his basking spot/platform, and you don't have his temperature zones within the correct ranges, specifically his Basking Spot Surface Temperature (between 105-110) and his Cool Side Air/Ambient Temperature (between 75-80 degrees maximum) these things will greatly effect his appetite and energy levels, specifically the UVB light.

Also, be sure to leave both his UVB tube and his bright-white colored Basking Bulb on every single day for at least 13-14 hours.